Tightrope Winery

Similarly agree with others that $15 for a tasting is steep and only waived when purchasing two bottles of wine per person which would require my friend and I to purchase 4! I understand it’s a case of adapting given the pandemic but other wineries were able to offer tastings for $5-$10 and some smaller wineries even offered tastings for free which made us more inclined to buy bottles. Staff were friendly and knowledgeable but wish we had given this a pass.

Yesterday, I went to Tightrope Winery to see about a tasting, as I was recommended to go by a friend. I was visiting with my friend who is a local. When we arrived it was empty, so we saw the sign saying they were closed for tastings, totally understandable, but since it was empty we thought we would ask about availability for tasting for the rest of the day or tomorrow. After calling out, a couple of unfriendly employees came out from the back and basically said they were full for the day. My friend inquired about how about tomorrow and they said well you will have to go home and look online to see if there is any reservations. This is all from the doorway. I then said well I'm from out of town can we not come in and buy anything? Oh yes you can but same feeling that we weren't welcome. Well the attitude put me off and I thought you aren't even willing to show me what you have or even say come in let me show you our wines (without a tasting) I was turned off. Thankfully The Abeille cidery just up from you was so friendly and more than accommodating. I bought six bottles which I'm not usually interested in cider but bar none top notch place with a stunning garden. We were invited to come back later with a lunch if we so chose and enjoy a bottle of their cider on their deck! Tightrope you could learn a lesson or two from this lovely little neighbour of yours. I will not be returning I'm sad to say. There are some wonderful winery's like Lange and Elephant island that have beautiful wines. My friend also who is a local was put off with your staff's attitude and I might add embarrassed. I was encouraged to write a review and wasn't going to having friends in the restaurant industry and seeing negative reviews can be devastating, but I think after reading a few of the other reviews this may be a learning opportunity for your staff and your winery about customer service. You may have been booked fully but you should have been prepared to sell your wines and/or be prepared to book to someone who was willing to return the following day.

We had a lovely lady do our tasting last Friday. We didn’t catch her name, but she had short brown hair. After our tasting, we went to purchase wine in the shop, which led to immense confusion. The male manager (caucasion, bald) was exceptionally belittling to her when there was a miscommunication regarding the tasting fee. He told me when I booked online it only charged the $15 for one person, despite me booking for 4. I said I wasn’t sure what he was saying, did we all need to go back and pay after purchasing wine? He looked at me blankly and repeated I only paid for 1 person. I opened my Visa statement online and showed them it actually charged me for 2. They said they had just changed the process that day- and reminded her (rudely - and in front of customers) that ‘we just discussed it that morning, remember?’ Wine was average this year, and the $15 fee was expensive, not even deducted from the 2 bottles I purchased and an extremely confusing process. I usually like to go to tightrope. We will not be back.

All I can say is "wow!" Their lineup of wines is breathtaking. The fruit expression balanced with beautiful acids on their whites would have been enough to make the stop more than worthwhile, but their reds were incredibly complex and mind bogglingly intricate. Top that off with great friendly service and an amazing view and you've got a must visit winery. Do not pass them up!

I love coming here!! I have been twice in a week!! It may have been because I didn't read the "Wine Club" pick up email properly!! I was so excited to get my wine, so they made that come true for me!! Over and beyond customer service and truly amazing wine to drink!! Thank you!

Such a forward thinking concept putting community and sustainability as a way of life.....the result of their philosophy is top notch wines. Love this place!!

I've been to this winery multiple years. It's 30 bucks or over mostly for red wines. My experience was OK. They are very professional but I felt a bit embarrassed cause I knocked over a bottle of water and felt like I was a nuisance more then anything. I ended up buying a few bottles of the syrah. The staff unfortunately made me feel unwelcome. They were not tasting the syrah and I asked them to open a bottle for me and they did which was nice though. If empathy was greater on staffs end for my mistake I would have rated 5 star. I probably won't return next year and just order online cause their wine is good. It was a uncomfortable situation due to my own fault none the less.

This was one of our favourite stops along the way. The staff was so amazing and friendly. We had a lot of laughs and the wine was great. Such a nice variety and some really great items other than wine available for purchase. I loved the candle holders made locally by Joe O’Rourke.